Alice's refusal was resolute, leaving Klein with no choice but to abandon his high-difficulty maneuver of making "The World" give a threatening look. In the end, "The World" withdrew his gaze.
Cattleya observed the exchange between the two and recalled how "The World" had pressured Alice the last time. A strange feeling surfaced in her mind.
Why did it seem like these two... well, let's call them "people" for now—why did it feel like they actually had a rather good relationship?
Without the preconceived notion of defining "The World" as a mere "caretaker," Cattleya could better sense the familiarity and subtle tacit understanding between them, as well as the faint trace of fear in Alice's demeanor.
Of course, this fear was not directed at "The World" but rather at the concept of going to school. Still, Cattleya found herself perplexed—why was Alice so intensely averse to school?
It was almost as if she had suffered some unspeakable torment there...
Audrey had also picked up on this peculiarity, quickly realizing that school was likely a deep-seated psychological shadow for Miss "Fate."
Piecing together Alice's fragmented descriptions from past conversations, Audrey conjured an image of a young Miss "Fate" being forced by Mr. Fool to endure long, grueling hours of study every day, her face filled with misery.
Poor thing... Audrey sighed inwardly but maintained a neutral expression.
Alice, oblivious to the silent mockery directed at her, fell silent under Klein's warning. With her quieted, the members of the Tarot Club had more mental space to think.
For instance... Who exactly was Bernadette?
Cattleya, however, was more concerned about something else. "Miss 'Fate,' just now, you mentioned a price... What did you mean?"
"You care about her quite a bit, don't you?" Alice turned her head and stared at her with curiosity.
Cattleya fell silent again. Just as she was struggling to find the right words, Alice mercifully answered her question, "Relax, even if I were to settle accounts, there are others ahead of her in line."
A sudden sense of relief washed over Cattleya. Somehow, this statement felt far more reassuring than if Miss "Fate" had simply promised not to take action.
She didn't voice this thought, but her loosened posture betrayed a part of her emotions. Alice, noticing this, curiously asked, "So, what exactly is your relationship?"
Cattleya opened her mouth but hesitated, her expression complex and unreadable. It seemed she wasn't sure how to define the relationship between them.
Alice studied her for a moment before suddenly speaking in a soft voice, "If you don't want to say, then forget it."
Cattleya was briefly taken aback.
"Though I don't fully understand it..." Alice propped her chin on her hand and looked at her. "Humans seem to be like this sometimes—so awkward, obviously caring deeply but unwilling to say a word about it..."
This was the first time Alice, while fully conscious, had explicitly excluded herself from the category of "humans."
No one found it strange—not even Klein. He merely marveled at Alice's rare display of understanding and then felt a sudden pang of inexplicable sorrow.
—Like struggling so hard only to find that something inevitable had still come to pass, a sense of helplessness.
Ironically, Alice herself had the best mindset among them all.
Repeatedly emphasizing and convincing herself that she was human had never been an enjoyable experience.
Even though Alice had used that term subconsciously, once she spoke it aloud, she finally understood the source of her lingering unease.
There was no need for her to insist on identifying as human. Even if she wasn't human, she could still live like one, still love humanity... No, in fact, precisely because she wasn't human, she could love humanity more freely—without being burdened by human emotions.
A fleeting insight flashed through Alice's mind, and for a brief moment, she felt as if a small, uncomfortable stone had been lifted from her heart. But something still seemed missing—she hadn't quite grasped it yet.
...I'll figure it out next time!
Alice let go of the thought with ease and changed the topic. "So, do none of you have anything to report?"
After a brief silence, Audrey, who had the most experience handling such situations, raised her hand and spoke first:
"Apologies, Mr. Fool. I haven't been able to contact the Psychological Alchemy Society recently, so I haven't obtained more diary entries..."
Klein nodded slightly.
Alice stared at Audrey's raised hand and muttered, "You know, Miss 'Justice,' I always feel like after raising your hand like that, you should stand up before speaking..."
"Why?" Audrey asked instinctively.
Alice simply shrugged and didn't answer.
Taking advantage of the moment, "Magician" Fors spoke up, "Lately, my mentor's responses have been slow, and the cold weather has made me reluctant to go out..."
Alice, judging from her own habits, assumed that Miss "Magician" was just too lazy to get out of bed.
Meanwhile, the newly promoted "Sun" Derrick also spoke, "Great Mr. Fool, I've had many matters to attend to since my recent promotion, so..."
Hearing this, Alice suddenly remembered something she had been meaning to ask. She raised her hand slightly and said, "'Sun' Mr., could you help me gather information on the 'demonic wolf'?"
"The demonic wolf"...?
The mention of this obviously ancient deity made the others pause in thought, especially Alger, who almost instinctively speculated—was this one of Miss "Fate's" acquaintances?
Derrick nodded and replied, "I-I'll keep an eye out while transcribing ancient myths..."
"No," Alice shook her head, "you misunderstood me, Mr. 'Sun.' This is a separate request—my personal request. You may name your price."
Derrick was momentarily stunned, unsure of what compensation to ask for. Having just reached Sequence 7, he was still far from Sequence 6 and had no immediate pressing needs.
Of course, he could start gathering potion formulas in advance, but in his mind, the knowledge Miss "Fate" had freely shared with him was already worth far more than just some ancient myths. He couldn't think of anything suitable to request as payment.
Poor Derrick—he had completely overlooked the enormous risks he had once undertaken.
"You can take your time thinking about it," Alice tapped the table lightly, not giving Derrick the option to refuse.
Derrick nodded silently, then turned to "The World" and said:
"Mr. 'World,' I've obtained a method for extracting the extraordinary characteristics of a runaway Beyonder while minimizing mental contamination."
Finally, following "Moon" Emlyn's betrayal of "Hanged Man" Alger, "Sun" Derrick had now managed to betray "World" Klein.